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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. wax — to grow
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. dip — to sink
  6. chest — a box
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. rock — a stone
  14. chest — of your body
  15. march — the month
  16. scale — in music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. scale — size or range
  19. march — the month
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. wind — moving air
  22. march — music
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rock — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com